Alyssa Healy has delivered outstanding consecutive hundreds to guide her team into the last four of the World Cup, motivating them to a merciless comprehensive victory over Bangladesh.
The wicketkeeper-batter finished not out on 113 runs, coming just a few days after her similarly brilliant 142 that defeated hosts India at the identical Visakhapatnam venue. This time, she shared an unbroken 200-run opening partnership with her opening partner (84 not out) to chase to their goal of 199 in just under 25 deliveries.
“I thought I was a little bit poor behind the stumps, and probably a little bit as captain as well tonight, but we’ll accept the win and progress,” she said.
Ironically, the utmost expertise of the day's chase as the pair put on 202 runs came after perhaps the team's poorest display in the field under Healy’s stewardship, with the skipper criticizing herself in particular for dropping a couple of the six catches that went down.
“I was a little bit disappointed with my glovework, and I needed to compensate with the batting, and luckily succeeded,” Healy continued.
From the time statistics was first taken on fielding performance statistics in the year 2013, the six missed catches represented the team's poorest fielding display at a Women’s World Cup.
“Perhaps it’s just that phase of the tournament – we’ve been here a while, and it’s an issue we’ll analyze,” the captain said.
It helped Bangladesh to eke out 198 for 9 after they had chosen to bat first, their highest score in an ODI against the Aussies, with Sobhana Mostary scoring the maiden fifty ever for the Bangladeshi team against the world champions.
But Alana King spellbinding continuous ten-over bowling performance, in which she claimed 2-18 with four maiden overs, was crucial to making sure the team's target wasn’t too challenging.
Healy Pleased with Win that Confirms Knockout Place
Healy was pleased to discover that the victory, which places her unbeaten team at the top of the group table on nine points after four wins and a abandoned match, guarantees them a berth in the semi-finals. “That’s really cool,” she exclaimed.
The 35-year-old skipper raced to her century off just 73 balls, the quickest hundred of the tournament, and finished with 20 fours off the 77 deliveries she faced as she accelerated from Litchfield in the latter stages in the knock after they had gone almost boundary-for-boundary towards their fifties.
The Opener Shines with First Tournament Half-Century
Left-hander Phoebe Litchfield hit 12 fours and a six, getting to her maiden World Cup half-century off 46 deliveries shortly after Healy reached hers off 43. They went on to record the third-best partnership by any Australian duo at a Women’s World Cup.
Earlier, during the sluggish fielding display, the captain spilled the simplest of edges off a teammate and also failed to hold on to a tough skied one off another bowler. Frustratingly, she also take a clear chance off the same bowler but didn’t have it reviewed when the official rejected their appeal.
The recalled Darcie Brown bowled the fastest balls at the tournament so far but was still the team's costliest bowling option, going for 0-52 off her nine overs.
Spin Attack Thrive as King Leads
Instead, the spinners thrived, led by King, whose spell could have been more successful if Beth Mooney hadn’t dropped one in the slips.
Fellow spinners Wareham (two for 22 off seven) and Gardner (two for 48 off nine overs) both contributed, while Sutherland consolidated her standing as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with her 2-41, taking her tally to 13.
Rubya Haider’s 44 and another's not out 66 off 80 deliveries took the team to their highest-ever total against the Aussies, but the target was rendered straightforward by a team who had chased down 330 runs against India four days earlier.
“It's fantastic when you’ve got the ‘Q’ beside your name in a global tournament,” remarked player-of-the-match Alana King. “No doubt it won't end here. We anticipate going back to Indore to face the English team and the Proteas.”
